Style Substitute is a series that will show you how replacing just one item in your outfit can have such a large impact on the rest of your appearance. I know that most won’t have the time or resources to go out and buy an entirely new wardrobe, so I’m going to start off one piece at a time.

A weird trend I’ve been noticing everywhere is topping off an office attire with a casual, sporty jacket (I am differentiating this from a”sports jacket” AKA “sports coat”, which is perfectly fine and will be discussed later) . This looks strange and has no place in a proper workplace. It’s like people are thinking “Oh I’m going to look uptight looking formal so I have to spice it up and look hip with a Nike windbreaker!”

What the hell?

I don’t even have to explain in-depth why this is a terrible look. It’s a walking contradiction. It’s akin to wearing sweatpants with a shirt and tie (I hope I’m not giving you any ideas) or wearing dress shoes while going to the gym.

Substitutes

1) Cardigan

The cardigan has a rich and illustrious history. Unfairly labelled as clothing your grandpa would wear, a proper fitting cardigan can be an excellent business casual outfit: A step-up from a casual jacket, but not as intimidating as a blazer.

A cardigan can be dressed up with a shirt and tie or dressed down with a t-shirt. It’s one of the more versatile jackets one can find.

2) Blazer / Sports Coat

There are many who think that the difference between a blazer and a sports coat is worth arguing. I’m not one of those guys. A blazer/sports coat is a jacket similar to a suit jacket. The difference is that they aren’t meant to be worn as part of a suit, and thus have no matching trousers. Most will have different colored buttons or casually styled pockets, a dead giveaway that it isn’t meant to be part of a suit.

A blazer or a sports coat is an excellent way to look more professional, especially here in the Philippines where these are reserved for weddings, proms, and CEOs. If you don’t want to look too intimidating, you can opt to forgo the traditional navy blue or black and go for light blue or medium gray.

The key thing about wearing a blazer or a sports coat is that there should be contrast between the pants and the jacket. Keeping them too close to each other in terms of color makes it seem like you’re trying to make it look like a suit — which you’re not supposed to do.

In terms of material, I’d lean towards a cotton / linen blend, as opposed to a mostly polyester jacket. This is because of cotton and linen’s breath-ability compared to polyester. Cotton and linen are also low maintenance. They’re meant to look a little wrinkled, and they still look damn good. If your workplace allows track jackets, it’ll allow wrinkled cotton jackets.

Three blazers / sports coats. Note the contrasting buttons which characterize a blazer, not a suit jacket. Also note the clear contrast between the jacket and pants. Also look at the guy in the middle. He still looks extremely casual while looking neat and put together. That’s what a blazer will do for you.

“Can I also wear a suit jacket as a make-shift blazer?” Yes you may, as long as — again — you don’t try to match the colors of your pants to your jacket. Unless of course, you’ve decided to wear the matching pants. The most classic combos are a navy suit jacket and grey / khaki pants.

Do you have any other substitutes for the track jackets people wear on top of dress shirts? Hit the comments below!

Style Substitute is a series that will show you how replacing just one item in your outfit can have such a large impact on the rest of your appearance. I know that most won’t have the time or resources to go out and buy an entirely new wardrobe, so I’m going to start off one piece at a time. Your transformation to a dapper gentleman will be a gradual one, also ensuring you won’t be the butt of your office’s jokes if you suddenly show up one day looking very different. Yes, it happens a lot here in our country, which should be the topic of another article entirely.

Your typical Filipino office worker probably goes to work in black, pleated “dress” pants, a billowy dress shirt, square-toed, synthetic loafers, and a too-wide necktie. While I can write an entire article on the entirety of this outfit, let’s take a moment to focus on shoes. Shoes make the man, as some say.

Fresh out of college I was able to attend plenty of exams and interviews in different fields. Honestly, I was saddened at the lack of preparation men my age went through to present themselves. I saw my potential peers with unshaved beards, earrings, and even tattered jeans.

You really want to give the HR team a great first impression even before you get to talk to them. Otherwise, they could just pick from any of the hundreds of applicants out there. Unfortunately, first impressions really are everything, especially when it comes to hiring people. How you dress affects how people perceive you. The moment you walk through their door, they’re scrutinizing you: how you greet, how you move, and yes, how you dress.

Shorts are part of everyday Filipino wear because it’s so damn hot all the time. However, so many people do it all wrong. Whether it’s wearing boardshorts to the mall or basketball shorts to class, it’s as if shorts are like a white flag that you wave. It’s a way of admitting you didn’t put forth any effort in presenting yourself on that particular day.

The folks over at Primer Magazine perfectly illustrate how to wear shorts with pride and dignity. All bases are covered, from the fit, the appropriate length, and what to wear with them. I was originally supposed to make a full post about shorts but since Primer already wrote about it so well, I might as well just share it with all of you.

Now make sure you save your basketball shorts for the gym and your boardshorts for the beach. You don’t even have to spend for a great looking pair of shorts, either, as I mentioned in my previous post. Buy two or three pairs of shorts in navy, khaki and grey. Boom, you suddenly have three pairs that can go with absolutely anything.

I would not have made this personal journey to being a better dressed man without these style websites I am about to share with all of you. Each of them has their own unique twist in sending their message across, but they do it so effectively I can only hope I can compare to them in the future.

Dappered.com – Easily my most visited style website. Joe, who runs the website, manages to post over two to three times a day, five days a week. It’s incredible how much he posts and how rich his content is. There are posts about sales, style debates, and they even have Beth come in every now and then to talk about things from that confusing woman’s perspective. Dappered mostly focuses on finding affordable, timeless style. Their style philosophies are ones I’ve picked up over the past few years.

Primer Magazine – One of the best looking style websites out there. What I love about Primer is its “The Getup” posts. All of their posts are pleasing to the eye and they have some serious graphic design skill. It’s literally an online magazine. They also never go overboard with the prices of their suggestions. Their non-style articles are also worth reading. There are articles on fitness, attending job interviews, and other matters that appeal to guys like me, guys out of college.

Effortless Gent – Has a ton of great content, even though Barron’s rate of posting has gone down — and understandably so, he’s got a clothing business to run now. I love this site because its approach on fashion and style greatly influence how I do as well. One of my favorite articles is his guide to Business Casual. He put together 7 different looks with just 9 versatile pieces. An versatile wardrobe with interchangeable pieces is something I definitely recommend and that post illustrates exactly why.

Real Men Real Style – The great thing about this site is that its owner, Antonio, also creates videos that discuss his posts. His YouTube channel already has hundreds of videos, and you could spend hours or even days just watching them. They’re simple and never flashy — just Antonio talking about style with a black or white background.

Men’s Style Pro – Another great website, Sabir Peele is just plain stylish. His looks are colorful yet never over the top. He effortlessly toes that fine line between classic and trendy. He also has an athletic-lean build, which I soon hope to achieve, but will probably never do so.

There are always too many to mention, but these are those that have had the most impact on my “personal style”. They don’t promote trends, overly expensive brands, and items that will just go out of fashion a few years from now. They go for affordable quality pieces that will never go out of style. That’s why these blogs are my favorites.

So skinny jeans are in. I recently tried out skinny jeans in a department store. They made me feel like I was going to be impotent by the end of the day. Yes, skinny jeans may look good on underweight models, but again, we have to consider a few things: In our humid climate, a relatively warm fabric like denim is only going to trap heat as it clings to our legs.

It’s also important to note that if you have a large upper body, skinny jeans will make you look weird and disproportional.

Men with large upper bodies or those possessing a large gut will want to stay away from skinny jeans, no matter how skinny their legs are. It just draws attention to places you don’t want attention drawn.

Here’s my proposition. Why not go for slim fit jeans instead? It’s a positive that we’re veering away from the baggy jeans that became so popular years back, but one need not go all the way. There’s a significant difference between skinny and slim. Allow a classic jeans manufacturer: Levi’s — to demonstrate:

On the left is their Slim Straight fit, and on their right is their Skinny fit. Again, if your legs are as skinny as the man on the right’s, then skinny jeans will probably look good. However, just look at how constricted his thighs are. For the rest of the population, Slim Straight will be just fine. Not overly baggy — which makes you lose all definition and puts on an extra ten pounds — but slim and well-defined.

Yes. A ton of my clothes come from SM Hypermarket. I hate spending more than 500 pesos for ANY piece of clothing. I’m cheap, yet I love window-shopping. While I do like going to ukay-ukays once in a while, nothing beats brand new clothing.

Today I’m going to discuss Export Overruns and why they’re such a great buy. I’m not that well-versed on the concept, but all I know is that they’re original clothing that for some reason aren’t being sold in their real retail stores and are being sent here. I have no idea what I’m talking about. Let’s just get to the part where I discuss the advantages of buying export overruns from relatively reputable (not tiangge) sources.